Motivation, Will You?

Okay, just put my dirty clothes in the washing machine.

So I was walking to the library yesterday when I saw this weird thing that is obviously a part of 1st National Bank's employee motivation program or whatever. Here, let me show you the picture first. Sorry about the bad quality, I took it with my camera phone.

It says "1st Class Service. Reserved for Employee of the Month".

Now that got me thinking. Is motivation that cheap? I mean, would an employee be motivated enought to meet his objectives or targets just to get a parking spot for himself/herself? Would I really be excited if my boss tells me that I will get my own parking spot if I perform well, or outperform others? Ummmmmm...I don't think so. On the other hand, would I be excited if my boss tells me that I will get a raise, a bonus, or perhaps a paid vacation if I perform well, or outperform others? Yes. Definitely.

And the other thing that came to my mind was that a reward should give you an advantage, not a disadvantage for God's sake. The next picture does not tell you much about the spot but let me tell you that the "reserved for employee of the month" spot is the farthest from the office entrance!

Now come on you guys, let some common sense prevail. Wouldn't the employee of the month want their car to be parked as close to the door as possible so that they could get in and get out easily, without having to walk so much in the freezing cold (now that's a real privelege, innit?)? Don't punish that guy for being smart and hard working. And seriously, in this case, no one would want to be the employee of the month - especially if they have to walk 200 feet to get into the office building when it's -25 degrees outside.

What do you think? Ha ha.